Chicago Fire EP Andrea Newman on Sylvie Brett’s Bittersweet Departure, Wedding Details, and ‘Major Drama’ to Come [Interview]

The highly anticipated wedding of Sylvie Brett and Matt Casey on Chicago Fire will also make for a bittersweet episode, as it marks Kara Killmer’s departure from the series.

Though it’s tough to say goodbye to the character of Sylvie Brett, showrunner Andrea Newman says it was the best option for her story, and that Kara Killmer was a part of that conversation.

I recently spoke with Newman about the decision to have Sylvie’s story end in this way, whether or not Gabby Dawson might have an opinion about the wedding, and how the storyline of the wedding venue mixup came to be. She offered some hints about what to expect when it comes to a replacement for Brett as well.

On Sylvie Brett’s ending and Kara Killmer’s departure:

“We couldn’t love Kara Killmer more and love the character of Sylvie Brett. She’s been such a gift to this show,” Newman began.

“When Matt Casey left, there wasn’t any definitive decision that she would have to go. But over the course of time, watching the character develop and trying to get back out there, and it just never — we just always felt that Sylvie and Matt were meant to be together,” she said.

“We wanted to give her the chance to explore other options and go on dates and see what that felt like. But at the end of the day, she was in love with him, and he was in love with her. And we knew that beautiful reunion would have to happen at some point, as heartbreaking as it was for us,” she said. 

Newman also confirmed that it was a creative decision to write Sylvie Brett out of the series, though it was a decision Kara Killmer absolutely understood. 

“It was creative. But you know, this is the thing of shows that go on for twelve seasons. Actors can get restless in parts and can say [they] wanna leave. Kara never said that. We always felt like she and Sylvie Brett were deeply connected, but it did feel, creatively, like it was the right decision. And I think she knew that too. So, as much as it wasn’t her saying, ‘It’s time for me to go,’ she so also understood the Matt/Sylvie connection. She felt it as deeply as anyone,” Newman said.

“And we talked about it at length before we even began to move the story in that direction. She was very much a part of it.”

While this marks Brett’s exit from the series, it doesn’t mean we won’t see her or Casey ever again. Jesse Spencer has, of course, already returned more than once since his departure, and Newman said it’s just as possible that we could see Brett again.

“We had Boden give a speech at the very beginning of this season, and he said it again — or he will say it again over the next few episodes, which is that once you are a part of 51 you are always a part of 51,” Newman said.  “It’s their family, and I would not be surprised to see both of them back at some point. I know we’d certainly love it.”

Could we hear from Gabby Dawson?

Newman also weighed in on whether or not Gabby Dawson would have an opinion about Sylvie and Brett’s nuptials. And, if you were curious as to whether or not we might hear from Gabby in some way, Newman said that won’t happen.

“I think Dawson, as a character, is really in the past of the show,” Newman said. “Again, we never say never to seeing somebody we love, and we certainly love Monica [Raymund] and love the character of Dawson. But we haven’t seen her in a long time, and it didn’t feel like the characters had been in touch.”

“I don’t think we’ll be hearing Dawson’s take on this wedding, but I feel in my heart that she would be very happy for them,” Newman added.

Why Boden was the perfect choice to be officiant:

Casey and Brett’s wedding will likely be even more emotional, considering their choice of officiant. Chief Boden will do the honors, which carries a special symbolic meaning, according to Newman. 

“Boden is such the father of that family. There’s nobody else, as Brett says, there’s nobody else she could see stepping in that role. We did joke about the fact that she’s dated a chaplain before, so she could ask a chaplain. But that would be a little awkward!” Newman laughed.

“Boden is so emotionally connected to the people in his firehouse,” she continued. “He’s the father figure. And in this case, the officiant — the one that symbolically has brought them together through the firehouse and now is literally bringing them together as the officiant for the wedding. So it’s kind of a beautiful connection.”

On the wedding venue:

Of course, getting to the wedding day itself hasn’t been easy for Brett. Now, it turns out the wedding venue she’s booked isn’t quite what she expected. Rather than get married at the Shedd Aquarium, she and Casey will be wed in a fish store.

The inspiration for this, according to Newman, came from a real-life misunderstanding. 

“It happened because it kept happening in the writers room in production. We kept saying, ‘We’ll do it at the aquarium, we’ll do it at the aquarium.’ And at some point, our line producer said, ‘The Shedd Aquarium is closed for renovations. We can’t do it there.’ But then people kept short-handing it to ‘the aquarium’ talking about, just generally, I guess there’s an aquarium outside the city,” Newman explained.

“And at some point, we all realized that we thought we were having it at the Shedd, and that was not an option. And now people were talking about fish stores and small aquariums.”

“I just thought that misunderstanding would be really fun to play, especially with Tony, who, as a character, feels very much like a character who could go to a fish store as a kid and be like, this is the coolest place ever!'” she laughed.

“We were so careful in the scripts, and we were so careful to go back and make sure never to have Tony hear the phrase ‘Shedd Aquarium.’ He just kept hearing ‘the aquarium.'”

“So to him, it made it total sense that this must be the place they were talking about,” Newman continued. “And, as he says in the last episode, ‘The Shedd Aquarium’s closed for renovations, why would you ever think you were going to have it there?’ He’s the common sense voice in that one.”

On the “major drama” with Brett’s replacement on Ambo 61:

Of course, Brett leaving Firehouse 51 means there will be an opening for a new paramedic. Newman gave some hints about what we can anticipate in terms of filling that vacancy. 

“There’s some major drama to come in that storyline that we’re very excited about, but I feel terribly for Violet about it. Violet is going to go through quite the rollercoaster trying to replace Brett,” Newman shared.

“First of all, of course, there’s no real replacement for Sylvie Brett in her mind. That’s her best friend and her partner of many, many years. So it’s hard enough. But then, all of a sudden, there’s a mystery floater that no one knows anything about. Boden will say, ‘I’ve never heard of this person.’ And then they’ll have to contend with quite a handful,” she continued. “That’s an exciting little arc to come.”

“Brett is irreplaceable,” Newman said. “I will say that.”

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Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC. Check out our preview of Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 6, “A Port in the Storm,” here.

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